Song of the Stars is Silence
by AiriFox
Summary: Jaypaw contemplates his place in the prophecy and Spottedleaf descends from Starclan to try and guide him. Discussion turns to argument and both sides just may wind up hurt in the end.


**Author's Note** - With Jaypaw being one of my favorite Warriors characters, it was only so long before he got his own story from me. I'm afraid this came out a bit too...Emo, I guess. I had a happier ending pictured, but it didn't seem to work and this just took a turn in the darker direction. Be forewarned, this has MAJOR spoiler-age for "Power of Three: The Sight" so if you haven't read that yet, I recommend holding off on this story. And hopefully I didn't write Spottedleaf too off-character. She's not ofteb pictured as being mad, so I sorta took it upon myself to imagine how she would act when she was upset. OK, disclaimer time...I don't own the Warriors series or "Falling Inside the Black" by Skillet (lyrics at the beginning and end of the story). Now, enjoy, yes?

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"Don't leave me alone

Cause I barely see at all"

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It was a clear night, one in which pinpoints of light poked through the milky dark sky. A saber-thin crescent moon hung high in the sky, nearly directly over the head of the young grey tom that rested in the forest clearing. Yes, tonight Jaypaw had awaken from a particularly odd dream and wandered out into this clearing to try and find some solace. Despite his lack of sight, the apprentice was acutely aware of every detail in the clearing. The branch up and to his left which was snapped in half, the end portion lying on the ground. The moss that covered the tree behind him, soft and springy. The decaying log before him, knotted and gnarled with age. He'd seen this area all too many times in his dreams, where his vision was just as vivid as his hearing of sense of smell. Slowly, he turned his sightless, but no less vibrant, azure eyes up to Silverpelt. Jaypaw could almost feel the eerie power flowing through him, tingling from the tip of his ears to the last hair on his feathery tail.

"Starclan..." he breathed, the words little more than a whisper, "One day all of this power will be mine. You've set this prophecy for me, and you'll be the ones to watch me shape the forest to perfection." He wasn't so much talking to Starclan as he was reassuring himself of the now almost sacred role he played. He, alongside Hollypaw and Lionpaw, were the chosen. Three young cats, each blessed with a gift. Of course, his siblings didn't know how special they were...Jaypaw possessed the exotic gift of 'The Sight', allowing him to sense the feelings of other cats and, more importantly, allow him to walk the dreams of other cats, usually unknown. Yes, to enter the sole sanctuary of other felines as they dreamed. Just two nights ago he'd found himself in the dreams of his leader, Firestar, and realized, as the leader received a prophecy from a cat called Skywatcher, he and his siblings were destined for far more than simple positions in Thunderclan. Of course he didn't tell Hollypaw and Lionpaw - more likely than not, they would think him to be kidding with them, a shot at humor despite how much he insisted he was being truthful. However, his brother and sister did notice several changes in their brother. For one, he no longer moped about and complained of his misfortune. No, he carried himself with a sense of pride and poise as he went about even menial medicine cat apprentice duties. Second, he was much more reflective than usual, always eager to start a conversation about the inner workings of Starclan and what role they played in the bigger picture. The third change, however, his siblings could not sense. Only Jaypaw's mentor, Leafpool, medicine cat of Thunderclan, could sense the new spark that ignited in him. It was a sort of ambition mixed with arrogance. He acted as if every cat, even the celestial warriors of Starclan, were under him, at his bidding. It worried Leafpool, exactly whose dreams had be been treading to give him such ideas? All she could do was try to guide him along a successful path, one that held no danger to himself and those close to him.

And yet, the stubborn pale-grey tom was bound and determined to pave his own path, a path that weaved through the stars he sat under now. A wind swept through the clearing, a breeze that ruffled his fur and chilled him slightly. Then, the air felt heavy and pressured and Jaypaw became acutely aware of an ethereal presence around him. A scent as fresh and sweet as rose petals perfumed the air and he felt the feather-light brush of fur against his flank.

"Spottedleaf.", he regarded her coolly. The tortoiseshell merely sat down beside him and twitched her ears. She didn't at all like the tone the apprentice spoke with - far too cocky.

"Jaypaw..." she murmured warningly, her tone uncharacteristically short, "You know we'll always be here to guide you, but acting as you do, acting as though you rule the forest, even if you do have the best intentions, will only result in needless slaughter." Jaypaw, his short temper rising back up, twitched his tail in annoyance as he stood.

"Then tell me, Spottedleaf... What good is this gift if I can't use it? What good will I ever-"

"I never said you couldn't use your gift," Spottedleaf interrupted. She had to drive the point home to Jaypaw, "I said you need to stop behaving like the forest is yours for the taking. What you have, Jaypaw, is power no cat has ever held in their paws before. You need to learn the difference between using your power for the benefit of others and using it simply because it's there to use. Do you not remember what others have told of you of Tigerstar? He abused his strength and charisma for his own ambitions. He could have been a legend among the Clans, a cat to be remembered for all the good he'd done. Instead, all he's remembered for is his treachery..."

"Then tell me what to do to not be like him!" Jaypaw retorted, annoyance and pleading battling in his voice. His clear blue eyes turned to her, unseeing, but feeling all too well the intensity of her own amber boring into him. "Me and Hollypaw and Lionpaw, together we all could make the forest great! We could eliminate clan rivalry! Tigerstar wanted to rule the forest - I just want to make it a place for all of us. What's so wrong with that? Answer me, Spottedleaf!" A flash of amber fire blazed in Spottedleaf's eyes. However, her cold tone betrayed the fierceness dancing in her eyes.

"Are you a fool, Jaypaw?" the former medicine cat asked icily. The apprentice felt a lump stick in his throat. What had happened to the calm, sweet, guiding Spottedleaf. Had he really offended her enough to drive her to this point. "You talk of eliminating clan rivalry, but that rivalry is the glue that holds our clans together. With rivalry between the four clans, each one appreciates peace all that much more for what it really is. If there is no competition, and all four clans became one, there would be competition within the ranks as one cat tries to climb to the top. Don't look at me that way, I'm not saying it would be you, Jaypaw...But another cat, another Hawkfrost...Another Tigerstar."

"So you, Starclan, who gave me this gift, do now not trust me with it? It's like waving a piece of fresh-kill in my face and then snatching it away! What happened to the kind Starclan, the one Leafpool told me of when I was younger?" The hair on Spottedleaf's back and neck began to stand on end, bristling with irritation and shock.

"So you no longer trust Starclan? I've tried to guide you, I've tried to show you a way but apparently you're as deaf as you are blind..." It was then Spottedleaf knew she said the wrong thing. Every ounce of rage coursing through her veins died and was replaced only with guilt. The hurt in Jaypaw's azurite eyes was enough to shatter the heart of any cat. His tail switched across the ground as he stood slowly, shakily.

"So now even Starclan rejects me because of how I was born..." the anger faded from his voice, leaving it flat and monotone without a single mote of emotion.

"Jaypaw...I-I'd never mean what I said. I just got so-"

"No...I understand perfectly, Spottedleaf." his voice was now laced with bitterness. "Sorry I turned out to be such a...Letdown." He turned, head bowed low, tail dragging through the course grass as he padded back through the brush.

"Jaypaw!" Spottedleaf cried, her own tone dripping desperation. He paused briefly, turning sightless eyes to the lithe tortoiseshell she-cat. Never before had Spottedleaf seen such an empty gaze in those eyes.

"I walk my own path now, Spottedleaf. Through the dark, just like what I see when I'm awake. Starclan has no reason for me, and I in turn have no reason. Maybe one day I'll...Find one." With that, he seemed to vanish as the astral form of Spottedleaf stood stunned in the clearing.

"Oh, Starclan..." she murmured, "Forgive me...I think I've alone turned him into what I feared he would be." And with that, she faded like smoke in a gust of wind. She was back in the stars, the stars that would never again reach Jaypaw – never again light his dreams.

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"Don't leave me alone, I'm  
Falling in the black,  
Slipping through the cracks.  
Falling to the depths can I ever go back?  
Dreaming of the way it used to be.

can . you . hear . me ?"

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Ah, so there it is! Sorry if I drowned everyone in Jaypaw emo-ness. Personally, I think it's gonna be a very Brambleclaw-esq scenario with him. Y'know, he's gonna seem to be going evil, but then it'll turn out he's really good. However, I could also see the authors really turning him over the dark side, though I think Hollypaw or Lionpaw would make for a better twist. Anyways, reviews would be muchly appreciated and rewarded with cookies. Or muffins. Whichever you prefer, really.


End file.
